Published at 11:32 AM PDT on May 19, 2011 | Updated at 11:48 AM PDT on May 30, 2012

Receive the latest popcornbiz updates in your inbox

And then there was the time when PopcornBiz asks Ed Helms if “The Office” season finale on May 19 will definitively reveal who’s going to be the new boss at Dunder-Mifflin.

Helms gave the question considerable thought before responding. “I would just…NO! Of course I can’t say anything!” he laughed.

The actor, who’s also hitting the big screen again in “The Hangover Part II,” did say that shooting the finale – which guest stars original BBC “Office” star and creator Ricky Gervais, Jim Carrey, Ray Romano, Will Arnett, James Spader, Catherine Tate and financier Warren Buffett – “was a ridiculous amount of fun – an absolute blast.” But Helms says that no matter who ends up running the Scranton branch, the entire ensemble will get a chance to shine in the wake of Steve Carell’s departure.

“I think that we have one of the most exceptional casts in the history of television,” says Helms. “The depth of that cast is extraordinary, and there are just so many awesome stories left to tell and a lot of fun to be had with everyone. And there’s been a lot of focus on who’s sort of sliding into Michael Scott’s role, but I’m just excited about the role that everyone is going to play, emerging in different, fun ways.”
“And I actually don’t know how that’s going to take shape, exactly,” he admits with a chuckle, “but it’s going to be a fun discovery for all of us.”

Nevertheless, given that NBC picked up Arnett’s fall series “Up All Night” this week, Carrey presumably has big screen fish to fry and Romano already headlines TNT’s “Men of a Certain Age,” Gervais has Hollywood celebrities to insult at awards shows and Buffett already has a pretty steady paycheck, the odds-favorite is Broadway star Tate, with Spader as the dark horse.